Authentic Expectations

Mahlon Raoufi as Pablo Del Valle and Amber Marie Martinez as Tania Del Valle in Cadence Theatre's “Native Gardens,” opening this Friday, June 23 at Wilton House Museum [the date was changed due to inclement weather]. Photo by Scott Elmquist.

Originally published by Style Weekly
by DAVID TIMBERLINE
June 20, 2023

A pregnant Amber Marie Martinez takes method acting to the next level for “Native Gardens.”

A surefire way for a theater company to ruin the suspension of disbelief is by outfitting an actor with an ill-fitting prosthetic when their character is supposed to be pregnant.

Cadence Theatre won’t have that problem with their upcoming production of “Native Gardens:” lead actor Amber Marie Martinez will be 35 weeks into her pregnancy when the show opens on June 23.

“I didn't know during the audition process but, after I got cast, I found out that I was pregnant,” Martinez explains. “We did the math and realized that I was essentially right on track to be at the exact same stage in my pregnancy as the character’s.”

In “Native Gardens,” Martinez plays Tania, one half of a power couple that’s just moved into their dream home in the suburbs of Washington, DC in anticipation of the birth of their first child. Initially welcomed by their older neighbors, conflict erupts as Tania’s desire to cultivate a garden of native plants prompts a property line dispute.

“I reached out to Cadence and was like, ‘Hey, I just found this out, and if you'd rather not have an actual pregnant person play this part, let me know,’” she says. “But they were thrilled. They're like, ‘no, this is exciting.’”

Director Rusty Wilson confirms the excitement he felt about the coincidence. “My response was, ‘Wow, well that’s fortuitous!’ As long as she’s going to deliver after the show’s run, we’re good.”

For Martinez, her passion for the role started well before learning she was expecting. “Reading the script and finding out about Tania, I was just so excited because it's essentially my story,” she says. “She's Mexican-American but her family's been here for hundreds of years. She barely speaks Spanish. She's just doing her thing, living life in America and experiencing otherness as people who look like us do.

“Honestly, I was excited for the chance to play a Latina woman who didn’t have an accent,” Martinez says.

Ethnicity and acting

“Native Gardens” was written by Karen Zacarias, premiered in 2019 and quickly took off as a favorite show among regional theaters. A biting comedy, it addresses big issues like racism, ageism, and colonialism in a specifically interpersonal way. A “Broadway World” review of a 2022 production called it “timely, thoughtful, and hilarious.”

Martinez’s road to Richmond started when she was in high school and her dad was stationed at Fort Lee. She went to VCU to study theater and, after briefly pursuing an advanced degree in nursing, she returned to VCU for her Masters degree. That’s when her professional theater career took off.

Her breakout role was in “Desire Under the Elms” at Firehouse Theatre in 2017 and she went on to win a Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Award for her 2019 performance in “Dance Nation” at TheatreLAB. She also has a day job in theater, working as the Arts in Education Manager at Virginia Repertory Theatre.

Martinez says her heritage has sometimes been an issue when it comes to landing roles. “I've gotten emails saying, ‘Oh, we really loved your audition, but your ethnicity doesn't quite fit the role,’ even though ethnicity wasn't really talked about in the script,” she explains. “It’s definitely something that's talked about.”

For “Native Gardens,” however, logistics have been as much of a focus as the issues raised by the play. Staged outdoors on the lawn of the Wilton House Museum, Martinez says “costume changes are going to be interesting. There’s been talk about maybe using pop-up tents.”

“We have to haul in like five or six cubic yards of mulch and install a fence and then take the fence out,” explains Wilson. “That’s the kind of thing that’s keeping me up at night.”

The director has an answer for any potential logistical issue involving Martinez’s pregnancy. Juliana Caycedo, the production’s assistant director and dramaturg, also happens to be an accomplished actor. “If Amber were to unexpectedly go into labor or something, my best guess would be Juliana would stand in and read the part,” he says.

“I was excited at first but, as we get closer [to opening night], I'm a little nervous,” laughs Martinez. “I’m just hoping that my body keeps everything as it is and doesn't get tricked into starting labor early based on the play.”

“Native Gardens” runs every night from Friday, June 23 through Monday, June 26 at Wilton House Museum, 215 S. Wilton Rd. Tickets available at here.